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EvolutionEvolutionA Short Biography of LifeA Short Biography of Life

a playa play

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Age of the universe: 13.72 ± 0.12 billion yearsAge of solar system: 4.54 ± 0.45 billion yearsAge of earth: ~4 billion yearsAge of life: ~3.5 billion yearsAge of eukaryotes: ~1.8 billion yearsAge of multicellulars: ~1.2 billion yearsAge of chordates: 500-550 million yearsAge of mammals: ~240 million yearsAge of placentals: ~130 million yearsAge of primates: ~60 million yearsAge of apes: ~30 million yearsAge of genus Homo: ~2.5 million yearsAge of Homo sapiens: ~150,000 yearsWritten history: ~5,000 years

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23:52 PM

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Antonio Snider-Pellegrini. 1858. La Création et ses mystères dévoilés ("Creation and its Mysteries Unveiled")

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Edward Bullard

Bullard E, Everett JE, Smith AG. 1965. The fit of the continents around the Atlantic. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London 258A: 41-51.

Bullard’s fit (by Bullard’s fit (by computer)computer)

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Alfred Lothar Wegener (1880-

1930)

Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane [The origin of continents and oceans], 1915.

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Continental driftContinental drift

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Paleontological Evidence

13plants don’t swim!

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slow process

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separartionsseparartions

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collisionscollisions

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94 million years ago to present

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Present to 250 million years into the future

31Do not buy waterfront real estate in Texas!

32Magnetic north poleMagnetic north pole

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Estimated Numbers of Described Extant Species (Lecointre and Guyader 2001)*____________________________________________________________________________________________ Taxon Common Name Number of described species Percentage of total (%)____________________________________________________________________________________________Bacteria true bacteria 9021 0.5Archaea archaebacteria 259 0.01Bryophyta mosses 15000 0.9Lycopodiophyta clubmosses 1275 0.07Filicophyta ferns 9500 0.5Coniferophyta conifers 601 0.03Magnoliophyta flowering plants 233885 13.4Fungi fungi 100800 5.8"Porifera" sponges 10000 0.6Cnidaria cnidarians 90000.5Rotifera rotifers 1800 0.1Platyhelminthes flatworms 13780 0.8Mollusca mollusks 117495 6.7Annelida annelid worms 14360 0.8Nematoda nematodes 20000 1.1Arachnida arachnids 744454.3Crustacea crustaceans 388392.2Insecta insects 827875 47.4Echinodermata echinoderms 6000 0.3Chondrichthyes cartilaginous fishes 846 0.05Actinopterygii ray-finned bony fishes 23712 1.4Lissamphibia amphibians 4975 0.3Mammalia mammals 4496 0.3Chelonia turtles 290 0.02Squamata lizards and snakes 6850 0.4Aves birds 9672 0.6Other 193075 11.0____________________________________________________________________________________________*The total number of described species is assumed to be 1,747,851. This figure, and the numbers of species for taxa are taken from LeCointre and Guyader (2001) and Cracraft (2002).Lecointre, G. and H. Le Guyader. (2001). Classification phylogenetique du vivant. Paris, France: Belin. Cracraft, C. (2002). The seven great questions of systematic biology: an essential foundation for conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 89, 127-144.    

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About right…

Vertebrates 50,841

Flowering Plants233,885

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Slight underestimates…

~3,000,000-30,000,000 species

Arthropods941,159

Fungi 100,800

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Huge underestimates…

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Bacteria 9,021Archaea 259

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Total number of described species:

1,747,8511,747,851Estimated range of total number of species in the world: 3,600,000 to 117,700,0003,600,000 to 117,700,000

Erwin TL. 1982. Tropical forests: Their richness in Erwin TL. 1982. Tropical forests: Their richness in Coleoptera and other Coleoptera and other arthropod species. arthropod species. The The Coleopterist Bulletin Coleopterist Bulletin 36(1): 74-75.36(1): 74-75.Lecointre G & Le Guyader H. 2001. Classification Lecointre G & Le Guyader H. 2001. Classification phylogenetique du phylogenetique du vivant. Belin: Paris.vivant. Belin: Paris.Cracraft C. 2002. The seven great questions of Cracraft C. 2002. The seven great questions of systematic biology: an systematic biology: an essential foundation for essential foundation for conservation and the sustainable use of conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity. biodiversity. Annals of the Missouri Botanical GardenAnnals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 89:127-144. 89:127-144.

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“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.” Donald Rumsfeld

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~30% of all animals are beetlesbeetlesThere is a story, possibly apocryphal, of the distinguished British biologist, J. B. S. Haldane, who found himself in the company of a group of theologians. On being asked what one could conclude as to the nature of the Creator from a study of his creation, Haldane is said to have answered, “An inordinate fondness for beetles.”

Hutchinson, G. E. 1959. Homage to Santa Rosalia or Why are there so many kinds of animals? Am. Nat. 93:145-159.

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Allocation of money and scientific Allocation of money and scientific effort in the study of eukaryoteseffort in the study of eukaryotes

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BackgroundBackgroundExtinctionsExtinctions

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MassMassExtinctionsExtinctions

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K/T eventK/T event

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K/T eventK/T event

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Periodicity?

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Controversy:Controversy: Do mass extinctions exhibit a periodicity of 25-32 million years?

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53GPC-3 = name of a sample sediment coreGPC-3 = name of a sample sediment core

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Controversy:Controversy: Is the cause of mass extinctions always extraterrestrial?

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Acceleration of extinction rates?

Unit = extinctions per million species per year (E/MSY)

1500-1900 25 E/MSY

1900-2000 50-150 E/MSY

2000-2006 1500 E/MSYPimm S, Raven P, Peterson A, Sekercioglu ÇH & Ehrlich PR. 2006. Human impacts on the rates of recent, present, and future bird extinctions. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103: 10941-10946.